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September 2020 www.intellinews.com I Page 19
to support companies to differentiate themselves through digitalisation.
We believe that cloud technology and data protection in the cloud can bring competitiveness," says Ovidiu Cical, co-founder and CEO of Cyscale.
The company will use the money to develop the technical and marketing and sales teams and
for global expansion, mainly in the US, Germany, England and the Netherlands. The company will be valued at around €2.3mn after the financing round.
Upgrade of Russian microchip industry
needs $10.5bn
The development of the Russian microchip industry would require investment of RUB800bn ($10.5bn) until 2024, Vedomosti daily reported citing the roadmap prepared by state technology agency Rostec.
Reportedly, the roadmap prepared for the Ministries of Communication, Finance, Economic Development, and Industry and Trade eyes development of 65, 55, 28, and 14 nanometre microchips, the like of which have been used in smartphones and other electronics since 2015 (latest Apple smartphones use 7nm chips).
Other technologies reportedly proposed to be targeted by Rostec include memory microchips with their own processors of 25-30nm. Rostec does not intend to acquire components from foreign companies, and plans to develop domestically integrated supply chains.
The targeted exports of micro-electronics are RUB20.4bn by 2024 and RUB48.8bn by 2030, with the supplies to the domestic market reaching
RUB466bn by 2024. The Ministry of Economic Development estimated that the total domestic electronics market stood at RUB2.9 trillion in 2019, but domestic capacities are mostly oriented towards the military and industrial complex, and not consumer electronics.
Russian bank grants first crypto-backed loan
Russian Expobank has issued its first official
loan backed by cryptocurrency Waves tokens, Kommersant daily reported citing the representatives of the bank, who see the deal as a precedent for the legal and banking community in Russia.
In July 2020 Russia has passed a law on digital assets, which defines cryptocurrencies as digital currencies, but still did not specify the regulation of digital currencies. A separate act is expected to fill this gap in autumn 2020, Kommersant reminds.
The loan was issued to businessman Mikhail Uspensky and structured with an escrow account, on which the tokens were collateralised. Uspensky commented to Kommersant that he intends to continue investing in Waves, but wants to see this instrument "work".
Analysts and lawyers surveyed by Kommersant confirmed that the deal is legal in Russia. They note that the decisive aspect of structuring the deal was the precise definition of Wave tokens as a type of property and thus an object of the civil code. Notary valuation of the tokens was also necessary.
However, large institutional players are not seen as likely to participate in crypto-structured financing deal, as a lot of regulatory uncertainty remains.